a public health lover's little corner of the internet

Month: June 2015

I leave Sunday! The countdown is now less than a week and I’m pulling things together. This is my third international trip and I’m not forgetting all the lessons learned the hard way from my first two:

Coffee. Peru and Uganda both being known for their coffee exports, I thought I’d be drinking some fancy brews, but was woefully mistaken.

In an effort to avoid 4 weeks of instant Nescafe, I’m bringing a disposable pour-over for each day. I think the materials inside the packet are compostable. I found these on Amazon for a fraction of what I pay for coffee here at home. Traveling internationally is always an exercise in flexibility, but I’m giving myself a pass on this one. I think allowing myself a few creature comforts can help me direct my energy on all the other ways I’ll be out of my element.

I’m lucky to have very little to worry about as far as regular medications–just a daily Malaria pill and the typical travelers’ kit of SPF, DEET and ahem, digestive precautions.

I’m going during Malawi’s cool, dry season. Which means fewer mosquitos, so lower malaria risk. It’s also a lot easier for me to stay comfortable and dress conservatively. When you think about going to Africa in July you don’t think about breaking out the sweaters, but that’s what I’m doing as nights will be pretty chilly and days will be in the 70s. In my first trip to Africa I completely underestimated what’s appropriate for dress and was way too casual–this round I’m wearing long skirts and outfits I wear to work now to make a good impression.

I’m taking over a bunch of items for the project, too. Including my volunteer t-shirts! I was so excited to get these in the mail last week. It was a much-needed tangible reminder of all the people who are involved in this surveillance system and the impact we can have on maternal health in their community.

These shirts cost 2-3 times what I originally expected to pay for the volunteer incentives, but I’m so happy I was able to get them. They’re really going to help volunteers identify with the project, which is the whole point. I’ve met my extended goal on my fundraising page and that provided me some additional funds for this expense.

*The shirts are also taking 2-3 times the space that my original idea–the volunteer totes–would have taken. Which means I’m looking to borrow a large suitcase. Anyone in Columbus have one they don’t need until August? A BIG one you have to check.

As many projects go, unexpected expenses happen. I wanted to pick up a scanner, for example, so the team members on site can have access to digitizing the audit forms as they’re completed. I’m currently receiving photos of the completed forms taken with a point-and-shoot, and doing data entry from those. This system works in the short term, but should really be improved. So, if you meant to donate to my project and have procrastinated, it’s not too late! At this point, the more I can raise the longer I can support the expenses of my project before they become CLI’s burden.

I can’t say thanks enough to everyone who has supported me and this project. I’m incredibly lucky to be surrounded by so many great people who have taken an interest and offered to help in so many ways. It’s another motivation on a long list of reasons why I’m committed to perfecting this system while I’m on site. More on that next!

Replace “being an adult,” with “leading a transcontinental practicum experience project” and this interweb gem has been my life.

Okay, not just Googling, but digging through journals and asking tons of questions. I’ve taken courses about public health in ‘developing countries’ but nothing on maternal health exclusively. So I’ve done a lot of learning by research and doing.

The elements of the project (so far) are the maternal/neonatal mortality audit form, a surveillance protocol, a database with data entry protocol, a volunteer training session and a volunteer manual.

My process for each piece is pretty much finding versions that have already been made (if/when that exists), comparing it to white papers and other peoples’ lessons learned for similar projects, aligning it with best practice guidelines by institutions like WHO or UNICEF, and researching Malawi-specific reports and maternal health projects from the area so I can make sure it’s relevant and appropriate.

I’ve gotten these far enough along to get the project off the ground so we can been able to take in cases (another neonatal death was reported last week). From here I’ll be refining them with experts on site at CLI. My time there overlaps with doctors from Baylor College of Medicine, including an OB-GYN who is living there currently. I’m also looking forward to working along side my practicum preceptor Gladson and other CLI research staff who can help me understand what needs to be done to make sure the tools fit in with the Malawian culture. Finding the right timing so we can respect the traditional mourning period, while getting our data close enough to the event for accurate reporting, is one item on that list.

Taking initiative to learn by doing + research has been difficult at times, but it’s been a huge growing opportunity for me and has been a great exercise for my brain. Now I’m looking forward to perfecting this system and making it run like a well-oiled surveillance machine!

Guys. You, ahem, made it rain on my birthday. Knowing I’m surrounded by people who believe in me and what I do is the BEST gift I could ask for and I can’t thank you all enough.

Immediate costs of the project are covered, but the longer we can pay our own way in staff salaries and supplies, the better for CLI. They will pick up the expenses when my contributions run out, but that does take away from other funds they would otherwise use to care for the community and execute other important research projects in the catchment area.

So in case you haven’t made it over to my fundraising page yet, I’m keeping it open through this month.

My advisor took a good hard look at our materials and started asking the what-ifs and other awesome questions that will make my tools more powerful. Grateful for the close look but I have a lot of the more tedious work that’s not so fun to blog about. Instead of boring you to death about my spreadsheets and protocols, I want to tell you more about the site I’m working at, Child Legacy International.

Just from looking at photos you get the impression that there’s a lot going on in this compound in rural Malawi.

First, it runs off of wind and solar power. When you run a clinic and research lab, having consistent power supply is not an option, so they’re building a pretty robust system. When I met one of the founders a couple of months ago, he made a good point about providing creature comforts as incentives to retain the Malawian staff they train and educate to work at the center. I get it, too–those little things count and you want to have the best people.

Though my project is really focused on work for the McGuire Wellness Center, CLI is way more than just a clinic.

Their compound has farms,

including tilapia ponds that feed staff and patients, then extra go to market for profit to the center

clean water access projects,

below is a photo of the cofounder I haven’t met yet–from what i can see in the photos she walks the walk when it comes to collaborative efforts and i love it.

There’s also a school for young kids, and opportunities for vocational training too.

plus a lab for bio testing, a pharmacy, a research arm, so much!

It’s impressive to peruse their photos and see how much they have going on, and to see their plans in the future.

The more I learn about this organization the happier I am to get this opportunity to work with them. I was also glad to see that they’ve earned the highest possible rating by Charity Navigator. It’s another reason why I want to support my surveillance system for as long as possible. The money that’s being put to work by this organization is used where it’s needed and it’s used efficiently.

Thanks for all of the support you’ve all shown me already, and for any new supporters reading this now!

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